Phoenix Tonight

The one and only for the road ahead.

That's A Lot Of Beans

Snuck this photo for your viewing pleasure.

Other highlights included the taste testing bar where you could try
any type of Jelly Belly. This was all free by the way.

We all had to wear goofy chef hats on the tour for some reason. And
we were told not to take them off. One guy looked homeless and was
dressed in a Scottish kilt of some sort. Actually I think it was just
a dark towel.

At the end I purchased a bag of the "belly flops" which are the
deformed beans. They will provide me with nourishment for the rest of the trip.

Jelly Belly

A quick stop yesterday going south from Sacramento to Monterey took me to Fairfield, home of the Jelly Belly, the world's greatest gourmet
jelly bean.

Quick sidenote: I saw an interstate sign on I-80 that said Ocean City, MD 3037 miles!!!! What a find. Unfortunately, I could not get a photo.

Back to the candy:

Popularized in the early 1980's when it was then discovered as the
preferred candy of President Ronald Reagan. It was said that he ate
the beans to help kick his pipe smoking habit. As a result the candy
manufacturer cought on and created the blueberry jelly bean to complete a Red, White, and Blue pack to sell during election time.
They even made a customized canister to fit in Air Force One for his
majesty. Reagan's favorite was the licorice bean, but that's only
number two in the hearts of the American people. Number one is Very
Cherry and number three is Buttered Popcorn. If you ask me, it's Birthday Cake.

Filling the air on this day were sweet smells of citrus. We were told
that the production line was working on a batch of lemon.

Other than the wide variety of flavors, what makes Jelly Belly's so
much better than its other confectionary rivals is that the flavor is
not only captured in the bean's shell. Flavored juices and purees are
locked into its core giving it that unmistakeable taste and the unique
candy eating experience.

Hundreds Of Elephant Seals

Flippin and flappin all over the Point Piedres Blancas beach.

And it smells awful.

The Big Sur

I camped at the Big Sur River last night and now I'm making my way
down the coast.

Deep Fried Artichoke Goodness

Not often does one get to return back in time to reexperience a once in a lifetime experience. So when I pulled into the Giant Artichoke Restaurant in Castroville, CA tonight I knew exactly what I had to do.

For some background let me take you back 13 years ago to an Ireland family camping trip we did through central California. On our way out to beautiful Sequoia NP we stopped in this fertile crescent of land to indulge ourselves in some of the biggest and best artichokes in the entire world. Having been a fan of the artichoke ever since our family friends, the Jackson's, introduced them to me as a younger
fellow I was excited to take this relationship to the next level.

Throwing caution to the wind I went deep on fried artichoke hearts for the first time and from there on out was hooked for life. Crunchy, buttery, vegetably, everything your [artichoke] heart could desire. I remember we had dozens just between my cousin Chris, AI (known as just Andy back then), and Richy (AKA Dad). We ordered and reordered and then took some more out for the road. Life was good.

No, life was great.

But unfortunatley because noone makes this tasty snack as scrumptious as the Giant Artichoke Restaurant in Castroville I haven't eaten one deep fried since. Subsequently, life hasn't been as great. Until tonight when I revisited heaven on Earth.

In the photo below you will see some artichokes along with the Mexican dish I had as an entrée. I refuse to write about the rest of my meal as I don't want to mislead you into thinking that anything served could be on par with the almighty deep fried artichoke.

I leave you with the words directly taken off the menu describing this establishment and the food it serves.

"One of Central California's famous tourist spots is the Giant Artichoke Restaurant. Located in Castroville, in North Monterey County, this unique restaurant is a favorite stopping point for people from all parts of the world. Thousands of people visit us each year
to enjoy the wonderful food and friendly service. The Giant Artichoke Restaurant prepares the finest specialty artichoke entree selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the uniqueness of it's menu
selection that reigns the Giant Artichoke Restaurant as the only one
of its kind.

Surrounded by the ideal combination of soil, sun and fog, the 'Golden Thistle', as the artichoke is sometimes called, grown in Castroville
reigns as the finest in quality in both taste and size in the world.
The Castroville Legacy, has reigned the artichoke as king of the village that bills itself as the "Artichoke Capio of World".